Wire coil conveyer belt



. Aug.'24,1948. F. w. HALE 2,447,613

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Patented Aug. 24, 1948 UNITED STATES WIRE COIL CONVEYER BELT Frederick W. Hale, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Ashworth Bros. Inc., Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 9, 1946, Serial No. 689,625

s claims. l

This invention relates to a conveyor belt formed of wire coils threaded together to forni an eX- tended supporting surface. Such belts are well adapted for handling castings or other metal objects and may be used to advantage in heattreating operations. But these belts, when formed of wire coils only, have a Ipronounced tendency to stretch lengthwise and to shrink transversely when under load, and particularly when heated.

It is the general object of this invention to provide improved reenforcing cross rods for this type of conveyor belt. These cross rods are so constructed that they provide spaced shoulders or abutments which engage the intermeshed wire coils and effectively resist the tendency of the belt to shrink transversely.

For the attainment of this desired result, my improved reenforcing cross rods are provided with annular grooves spaced axially to the normal Apitch of the wire coils.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a Iplan view of a portion of my improved conveyor belt;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of a portion of a reenforcing rod; and

Fig. 3 is a force diagram.

My improved conveyor belt comprises a plurality of wire coils Il! which are threaded together to form an extended mesh fabric. It will be noted that the coils, as thus threaded together and intermeshed, provide substantially diamondshaped openings or enclosures.

When the .belt is under load, the stresses on the different parts of each diamond-shaped enclosure are substantially as indicated in Fig, 3. The pull on the belt is indicated at a, the drag of the load is indicated at b, and the resultant forces tending to contract or shrink the belt transversely are indicated at c.

In order to prevent such contraction, I insert reenforcing cross rods II between certain of the intermeshed coils II). These cross rods may be inserted between each pair of coils as indicated in the u'pper part of Fig. 1, or the cross rods may be spaced apart by one or more coils as indicated in the lower part of Fig. 1.

The ,preferred construction of each cross rod is as clearly shown in Fig. 2, with each rod II provided with a series of annular grooves I2 flanked by shoulders or abutments I4. The grooves I2 receive the intermeshed wire coils II), as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and the grooves are spaced apart to correspond substantially to the pitch of the wire coils. Each groove is preferably just wide enough to receive a pair oi intermeshed coils.

GII

When tension is applied to the belt and the transverse forces c tend to shrink the belt sidewise, the intermeshed coils engage the shoulders or abutments I4 and are thus substantially prevented from moving inward or approaching each other. Consequently, the belt is maintained at substantially full width, regardless of load or operating conditions.

The action of the shoulders I4 in opposing transverse contraction of the belt when under load is indicated by the double arrow d in Fig. 3.

Any usual means may be provided for preventing endwise displacement of the rods Il when the belt is not under load, but under ordinary conditions of use the grooves I2 and shoulders I4 sufficiently prevent such endwise displacement.

Having thus described .my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. In a wire coil conveyor belt, a reenf-orcing cross rod extending through the interlocked portions of adjacent intermeshed coils and having a longitudinal series of annular grooves providing transversely spaced shouldered abutments, and said grooves being spaced apart to substantially correspond to the pitch of the wire coils.

2. In a wire coil conveyor belt, a reenforcing cross rod extending through the interlocked portions of adjacent intermeshed coils and having a longitudinal series of annular grooves providing transversely spaced shouldered abutments, and said grooves being spaced apart to substantially correspond to the pitch of the Wire coils and being just wide enough to receive a pair of intermeshed coils.

3, In a wire coil conveyor belt, a reenforcing cross rod extending through the interlocked portions of adjacent intermeshed coils and having a series of shoulders constituting spaced abutments engaged by the intermeshed wire coils, and said shoulders abutting said coils and holding said coils from substantial approach to each other.

FREDERICK W. HALE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the i'lle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,766,737 Woodman June 24, 1930 1,182,331 Taylor May 9, 1916 1,938,293 Korb Dec. 5, 1933 2,025,620 Sneesby Dec. 24, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 158,782 Great Britain Feb. 17, 1921 

